Today we examine where sites on drumming might be found in ODP (or for suggested sites, how to find where isthe best place)

If a search for drums is done then we get something like this (Note that seach will not bring up every appropriate category - it’s just a starting point)

Open Directory Categories (1-5 of 7)

1. Shopping: Music: Instruments (131 matches)
2. Arts: Music: Instruments: Percussion: Drums (67)
3. Business: Industrial Goods and Services: Packaging: Crating, Boxes and Drums (30)
4. Arts: Music: Instruments: Native American: Drums and Rattles (12)
5. Arts: Music: Instruments: Percussion (35)

[ more… ]

Open Directory Sites (1-20 of 1063)
… followed by many sites, descriptions, and the categories where they are located. Each category is followed by a number indicating how many sites are in the category.

This says that there are seven categories which relate to drums - the [ more… ] linking to addtional categories beyond the first five –

• Arts: Music: Instruments: Winds: Bagpipe (24)
• Regional: North America: Canada: Arts and Entertainment: Music: Instruments: Winds: Bagpipe: Bands (21)

First we have to ignore the categories that to not relate to drums as musical instruments.
Business: Industrial Goods and Services: Packaging: Crating, Boxes and Drums - is not a good match

Of the rest, it may be good to click on the link and go to the category and then look at the descriptions
Shopping: Music: Instruments
Submissions to this category should offer online shopping in some form for a range of musical instruments, accessories, and/or recording gear.

Arts: Music: Instruments: Percussion: Drums
Online stores selling drums and accessories should be submitted to Shopping: Music: Instruments: Percussion.
Websites about drums, including instrument and instructional information, drum building, drummers, and organizations.

This tells us some valuable information - there is a difference between Shopping and Art - Shopping being for sites emphasing sales - Art more for information.

Arts: Music: Instruments: Winds: Bagpipe and Regional: North America: Canada: Arts and Entertainment: Music: Instruments: Winds: Bagpipe: Bands are not great matches - they are coming up in the search for sites relating to both bagpipes and drums, and also matches on Drum Majors in the site descriptions.

So if we are looking to buy some drums we can start in Shopping: Music: Instruments - but that’s pretty broad - more specific searching can be done by going that category and repeating the search - but only in that category - that gets

1. Shopping: Music: Instruments (99 matches)
2. Shopping: Music: Instruments: Ethnic and Regional (32)

In Shopping: Music: Instruments it makes sense to find good subcategories such as Shopping: Music: Instruments: Percussion which gives a lot of sites and addtionally subcategories for Bells, Steelpan and Taiko

In Shopping: Music: Instruments: Ethnic and Regional although some sites that sell drums may be clocated there, we might have to know the ethnicty of the drunm we are looking for. So for example, a djembe will most likeley be found in Shopping: Music: Instruments: Ethnic and Regional: African along with other African drums such as djundjun (dununs) and ashikos.

One might ask - why are Steelpan located in Shopping: Music: Instruments: Percussion - are they not Ethnic? Yes, but that is the way it was set up. However, if you do go to Shopping: Music: Instruments: Ethnic and Regional - note there is an entry Steelpan@ which cleverly sends you to the right place.

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If we are looking for information about drums that we can do a search in Arts: Music: Instruments which yields:

1. Arts: Music: Instruments: Percussion: Drums (67 matches)
2. Arts: Music: Instruments: Native American: Drums and Rattles (12)
3. Arts: Music: Instruments: Percussion (35)
4. Arts: Music: Instruments: Winds: Bagpipe (26)
5. Arts: Music: Instruments: Makers (3)

that give us another usefull category Arts: Music: Instruments: Makers - but that begs the question - is not a Maker selling his product and should that not be in shopping? The description clarifies that:

For companies and individual craft workers making musical instruments.
Instrument manufacturers should be sent to Arts: Music: Instruments: Manufacturers
Sites selling online, but not building instruments ahould be submitted to the correct category within Shopping: Music: Instruments